About Madison:

Madison was born in Bristol, CT, but is a Raleigh girl at heart. She grew up in Raleigh and ended up staying in the city for college, attending NC State University. She graduated in May 2014 with a degree in English. She currently teaches 9th and 11th grade English at Sanderson High School in Raleigh and lives with two friends in an apartment on the Raleigh/Cary border. She is in complete denial about living in Cary.

On her limited free time, Madison enjoys reading, writing, drinking good wine (usually selected by Kyle), watching old movies, drinking coffee, hiking, laughing, and–of course–spending time with Kyle.

About Kyle, she says, “We met in 2011 working at Camp Oak Hill. I was dating someone else at the time, and I found Kyle to be a little irritating. He was too cocky. But, of course, because we all know Kyle is irresistibly charming, we eventually became friends. I remember many a hot afternoon that summer was spent clipped to the zip-line tower at camp with Kyle. We remained close for a little while after camp that summer, but ultimately grew apart. We were both in different stages of our life. It was unfortunate, but those things happen. In 2014, Kyle and I were brought back together through Camp Oak Hill or, really, divine intervention. We both attended a staff reunion at camp and spent the entire night talking almost solely to each other. There wasn’t a spark for me then, but there was definitely the realization that Kyle had grown up from the boy I had met years before. He was a mature, confident man now–with a much sexier haircut! I saw him again a month or so later while spending time with Peyton and Victoria, two friends from camp. He cooked us dinner for our girls night and–let’s be real about it–there is nothing more attractive than a guy who can cook. Peyton and Victoria mentioned his lack of a girlfriend and I wondered at why out loud until I realized they were implying that we should date. There was still no spark for me even though I considered us to be friends. I went abroad to China shortly after that and he emailed me from Japan where he was visiting his dad. As per his insistence, I had applied to work at camp that summer and was hired. He had already been hired, and was emailing to express his excitement at our new co-worker status.

“Our time at camp is not characterized in my mind by our budding romance. In fact, I was not looking to date anyone at the time, and he had told me he was interested in someone else. Kyle and my friendship grew as I relied on him for advice and confided in him. He was one of the few staff members I felt understood by as we were of similar age and life experience. Kyle was a rock for me throughout the summer, but it was not his ability to comfort, challenge, and support me that attracted me–at least not initially. It was watching him lead the staff well with confidence, patience, and faith (in addition to his stunning good looks!). I hid my crush well amid questions from other staff members and my own family. I didn’t act any differently toward Kyle, thinking him indifferent toward me. Eventually, certain events–which later became referred to only by silly titles like ‘The Psuedo-Date’–made me think that he might have feelings toward me, too. One night he confessed he was wrestling with feelings for me; they were unexpected but could no longer be avoided. Of course, I was relieved, although surprised. As you can probably guess, I confessed my feelings much to the oblivious man’s surprise. After that, you know how these things go: first date, first kiss, the first of many times Kyle would make fun of me for not drinking my beer quickly enough…

“I realized I loved Kyle on his birthday. It wasn’t a realization of wanting marriage–even though that eventually grew from my love. We had been dancing together in my living room, surrounded by candlelight. Every good thing about him came to mind as he held me close, every little thing that excited me about having a man like him. He made me laugh, like really laugh. He challenged me to work harder. He comforted me when I needed it. He made me want to strengthen my faith. He wanted to hang out with my parents. He was hardworking and intelligent. He was spontaneous and unpredictable. He wrote me notes and sent me poetry because he knew that’s what would make me the happiest. He looked at me like I was the only face he wanted to see for the rest of his life. At that moment, a quote from Fitzgerald had fluttered through my mind followed by a remembrance of a Neruda poem I had long decided was simply a fairytale. Then, I was a goner. Any man who brings poetry to mind is a man who’s already stolen your heart.”

About Kyle:

Kyle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but has lived all over the Southeast, including Georgia, West Virginia, and Wilmington (NC). He doesn’t claim any place as home, but holds each place as special for different reasons. He currently lives in Raleigh where he goes to school full time at NC State and works part-time at Total Wine. He is studying Program Management through the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism program and will graduate in May 2016. Even though Kyle has a committed passion for wine, he’s still truly young at heart.

A true Renaissance man, Kyle enjoys good wine, good suits, good fishing gear, and a good hiking trail. On his limited free time, Kyle drinks a lot of coffee (He is usually found with a cup not on his free time, too!), watches old movies, cooks, and–duh!–spends lots of time with Mads.

About Mads, he says, “I entered Camp Oak Hill this summer with the mindset that I was willing to date, but I kept feeling like God was telling me to wait, wait, wait. So I went through the whole summer not pursuing any relationships of the romantical sense. I found that I spent most of my nights conversing with Madison as platonic friends who were in similar life stages. We continued to build our relationship upon friendship and trust; although, one week, we–without even discussing it–decided to avoid each other. We both wanted to quiet the rumors that spoke of romantic interest in each other. (Great minds think alike!) During that week and the conclusion of that week, I came to the realization that I never wanted to not talk to Madison for that long again.

“So, the Saturday after the ‘Week of Avoidance’, the ‘Psuedo-Date’ happened. I really missed Madison so I invited her out for lunch which preceded to include a trip to REI, a trip to Target, and a 2 hour conversation over coffee at Starbucks. In conclusion, I asked her, ‘What is this?’ Let me tell you, if you have to ask, it’s a date. From this story, you should gather that I’m really stellar at dating.

“Through a handful of events and many conversations at camp, Mads and my feelings for each other became clear. I was very apprehensive to dating because I had been hurt before. But, I felt like this was something I never wanted to let go of.

“So, I asked her out on a date. We went to a Durham Bulls game where one beer disabled our driving ability, so we walked around instead and shared our first kiss.

“From there, our relationship blossomed. The road that has taken us where we are today hasn’t been easy, but Mads has supported me and pushed me through the tough times.

“I knew Madison was right for me in late October, early November, when I contracted Rocky Spotty Mountain Fever. During my illness, Madison came over many times and nursed me. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be around me when I was sleepy, sick and cranky. Her genuine care and love for me shown through this time and I knew I never wanted to let her go.

“Mads has shown me many new things regarding life, my faith, and my relationships (not to mention my vocabulary). She continues to spur me on in my relationship with Jesus and pushes me to make hard decisions, especially the ones that affect us both. Madison is always on my mind and my heart, and I love her dearly.”

About the blog:

Kyle informed Madison he spent $18 on a custom domain name and, therefore, they were then obligated to start a blog. They decided to take turns: Madison posting in a reasonable amount of time followed by a month long wait for Kyle’s next post. He swears he’s committed to this idea.